by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich visited point guard Tony Parker in the offseason and came with a challenge.

So Tony, what's it like when Popovich stops by armed with a challenge? Parker chuckled. Fortunately, Popovich didn't want a report on the selected works for Russian poet Sergei Yesenin, or whatever book he was reading at the time.

"He just told me 'Timmy (Duncan) and Manu (Ginobili) are getting older, and it's your turn now. You have to carry the team night in, night out. You have to play good every night. You have to be consistent,' " Parker told USA TODAY Sports. "He said 'Good players have a great season one year. But great players have great seasons more than once.'

"The belief that he has in me shows a lot of respect and makes me want to go out there and play hard every night."

Parker, 30, responded to Popovich's challenge with another outstanding season. Now, it's not like Duncan is just a figurehead playing out his days. It is, Parker said of Duncan, "unbelievable how he is playing at 36."

But it's Parker's control of the team, especially offensively, that has lifted the Spurs to the league's best record. Parker, an All-Star for the fifth time this season, is averaging 20.8 points and 7.6 assists and shooting 53.6% from the field, 39.3% on three-pointers and 83% from the foul line â?? just off his goal of 50-40-80.

His dominance been evident in San Antonio's past 10 games with Duncan bothered by injuries. Duncan has played just twice since Jan. 22 and in the Spurs' past 10 games, they are 9-1. Parker has averaged 25.4 points and 9.1 assists and shot 60% from the field, leading the Spurs to a league-best 42-14 record at the All-Star break.

"I'm playing my best basketball," Parker said. "I'm playing very confident. â?¦ They always say between the ages of 28 and 32, you play your best basketball because physically you're still good and still going fast and you have the knowledge and experience.

"I feel like now is my time to show what I can do and carry the team."

Popovich learned early what buttons to push in Parker's mind. The most valuable late first-round picks in recent history, the Spurs drafted Parker No. 28 pick in the 2001 draft. He was just 19.

"When Tony first came to us, I was merciless with him," Popovich said. "I wanted to find out very quickly if he was going to be able to run the show or not. And I wanted him to be thrown into the frying pan and just melt or be stronger."

Popovich, the gastronome, discovered he had a four-star French meal paired with a fine bottle of Bordeaux.

In the process of turning the team over to Parker, Popovich has also opened up the offense while still pushing the Spurs to play top-5 defense.

Each season since 2008-09, the Spurs have increased their pace, going from 90.4 possessions per game four seasons ago to 96.3 possessions per game this season. They have not sacrificed offensive efficiency in doing so. San Antonio ranks fourth in points per 100 possessions (107.4).

"We're pushing the ball more, that's for sure. Our ball movement is great," Parker said. "I think he evolved offensively because the league evolved. The league is going faster and you have more teams going smaller with Carmelo at the four and Durant at the four, LeBron at the four. The pace of the game allows you to score more points, but you still have to make stops to win championships."

Heading into their final 28 games, the Spurs are third in defensive efficiency, allowing 98.4 points per 100 possessions. But defense still remains a concern. The Spurs struggled against the Thunder in last season's West finals, especially in the final four games â?? all losses â?? allowing 112 points per 100 possessions.

"Defensively, Pop still wants us to play great. For us, that's the biggest room for improvement is defensively â?¦ you're not going to win a championship if you don't play defense," Parker said. "The three championships we won, we were always in the top five. But we still preach defense."

For a short time last summer, Parker wondered not only if he would play this season, but if his basketball career was over. Last summer a fight involving Drake and Chris Brown at a New York club, Parker was hit in his eye with a shard of broken glass. Parker needed surgery and he said doctors told him he came within two millimeters of losing his sight in that eye.

"It definitely puts life in perspective," Parker said. "I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Stuff happens in your life that makes you treasure life even more. My career is closer to the end than to the beginning so you want to treasure those years."

He wore protective eyewear during the Olympics but does not wear anything over his eyes now.

Parker's vision is clear now â?? physically and metaphorically. He knows what he wants, starting with an NBA championship this season.

"I like the way we play," Parker said. "If we keep improving defensively and Timmy and Manu are 100% for the playoffs, I like our chances."

Then, he wants to lead France to a gold medal Eurobasket 2013 this September in Slovenia. France lost to Spain in the 2011 Eurobasket final and seeks redemption.

"It's one of my goals. I want to win a gold medal for my country one time before I retire," he said. "We have 13 guys in the NBA. We're the European country with the most NBA guys represented."